The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-06-04
NATURAL GAS,
prospects for Gas and oil In LA sallo
County --Suppositions and Theories.


turned from business trip to Indiana
While there he saw Pennsylvania oil well
nan who inquired about the coal products
of La Sale county. On being told what the
coal mines of this county were like, and
being gwen general idea Of the geology OF
the county, he said: why, should think
you ought TO have natural gas there if you
would bore for it, and going on, he offered
to come out and bore well to any desired
depth for u dollar and half a foot.
Upon talking the matter over with some
of our leading capitalists, several expressed
desire to experiment with it, and trial
boring will doubtless be made. This opens
up the general question of the probability
of there being gas or oil under La Sale
county in quantity that would pay for the
boring.
There are several theories as to the gee
| logical conditions necessary to the existance
meuts appear to be the presence of COAL
Trenton limestone or clay shales with organ
ic d, posts. II we understand the matter
correctly these are known to exist, in this
county nearly all Of the conditions usually
counted on to indicate the presence Of gas
! in other localities. We certainly have the
coal beds. We also have the salt wells, as n
large well near Fishburn Cave most clear
ly proves, Some twenty years ago there
boring down to a considerable depth there
came forth volume of salt water sufficient
to turn small -four mills wheel The great
disturbance of the rocks and the upheavels
of geological formations in this county have
located the Trenton limestone, with refer
ence to the shales and coal
But basng our logic upon the first and
more lasting conditions under which natural
gas has been found, here are the points
J If we accept the theory that gas is formed
by coal beds, we know we have the coal
beds. We know that gas is found in connec
ton with salt water near the Trenton lime
stone, we know that we have the salt water
near the limestone. OF course there may be
a dozen different conditions to the contrary,
that we know nothing about, but the fact
that men have thought seriously before this
Of there being oil here, and the fact that the
conditions appear to be favorable as com.
| 4 III ..
leads Ottawa citizens to feel an interest in
the question of gas in this county.
Only n short time since, Mr.. Olson, of
Freedom while digging well, between
twenty and twenty-five feet down found gas
and letting lamp down into the well, it set
fire to the gas, and up came lamp, buckets
and rocks NJ ifthree or four kegs ofdynamite
were down there. Mr.. ShOrtwell also, few
miles south Of Ottawa only a few days ago
while digging well struck gas; of sudden
there was an explosion, and several hodfuls
of gravel were thrown out Of the well. That
however was all that appeared.
All these indications 90 toward the con
clusion that gas may he found in this county
which is only waiting for a chance to run
our mills light our streets and so on.
On the other hand there are objections to
the above. There are counter balancing
facts and opposing theories. One gentleman
says, "lf there be gas here, why have
none of these aresian wells ever struck III"
The average artesian well goes from 300
to 400 feet deep, while the gus may be ex.
pected anywhere from 100 to 8, 900 feet with
a strong probability IN favor of the deep
wells, So the artesan well objection theory
may, or may not, amount to very much
book on the subject of natural gas says that
the gas is in deposit in the old rocks, that
in any place where there have been recent
| earthquakes or geological connections, the
gas, if any were ever there, will have es
capped. This theory may apply to La Sale
county. The upheave of the old rocks on
the Vermillion and then exposed at the sur
face Of both the coal veins and the lower
Trenton limestone, may have opened
vent Tor the escape Of the gas that iaht
have existed, looks like the heaviest wet
blanket we have seen thrown on the gas
hopes OF this county, but it is by no means
q conclusive negative.
Still there are many indications to back
up the supposition that there may be gas in
this county. We can find no one, however
hereabouts who appears to have any decided
opinion on the subject, founded on scientif
ic knowledge; and we give the above for
what it may be worth, disclaimlng however
for it the semblance Of scientific theory;
but merely a suggestion.
We understand Mr.. Means of Peru, in
tends to test the matter by boring in his
neighbOrhOOd. The failure to find gas in
paying quantities at Mendoza is not remark.
able, for if the gas is to be found in the
Trenton limestone, it would not exist at
Mendoza where practically that strata of
the earths crust is at the surface Gas has
been found in Otter Creek and is Tor was) in
use in farmers dwelling there, the condi-
tons favorable to gas being vastly different